This invention relates to poly(hydroxy ethers) and more particularly to a process for preparing thermoplastic poly(hydroxy ethers) by reacting diepoxides with dihydric phenols.
Poly(hydroxy ethers) are known to be useful in the fabrication of articles exhibiting barrier properties. See, for example, Reinking et al., J. Polym. Sci., Vol. 7 pp. 2135-2144, pp. 2145-2152 and pp. 2153-2160 and Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology, Vol. 10, pp. 111-122.
Reactions of dihydric phenols with diepoxides to produce chain-extended epoxy resins and poly(hydroxy ethers) are well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,164,472 and 4,732,958. However, such reactions can often lead to crosslinked products which are not suitable for use in thermoplastic applications or to low-molecular-weight polymers with poor mechanical properties when weakly reactive dihydric phenols are employed.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a process for preparing poly(hydroxy ethers) from reactions of diepoxides and dihydric phenols, which are melt processable and possess good mechanical properties regardless of the reactivity of the dihydric phenol.